Anyone interested in buying affordable rear projection films?

I have been a long but silent fan of this site, and noticed a lot of peeps are having a hard time getting their hands on supplies that are affordable.  Here is where I come in.

I was recently sent to China to head R&D for a tech firm, so I got in touch with some local suppliers, I thought I share this resource with everyone.

anyways I found rear projection films that are almost as good as vikuiti, at a much much lower cost, only around $90USD per meter square!  I have purchased some myself and made a 100 inch screen to play wii, thats right, 100 inch wii screen, HELL YEA, only cost around 200ish USD.

I have included some pics in this post, if you are interested I can get these for you guys around $90USD per meter square, plus shipping.

just tell me the dimensions you need.

here is my email:  if you are interested.

P.S to Clarify how the cost of this material is calculated, the cost is based on the total area of the film ordered, here is an example

if you want a piece that is 1m by 0.5m, the total area of this film is simply 1 X 0.5 m = 0.5 meter square, since the film is 90USD per meter square, you will pay 0.5 X 90 USD which is 45 USD.  if you want a piece that is 2m by 1m it will be 2 X 1m = 2 meter square, therefore it will cost 180USD.  If you have any questions email me.

sorry due to high demand for this material, the supply for March 2009 is empty, I will resume taking orders April 2009, thank you.

Update:  Here is a demo of a 100inch MT screen I made with this material

http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/5970/

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

@ajlovegrove:

Did you already tried that projection surface ? with which setup ?

Hi Jimihertz,

I am current using an LLP setup.

Cheers

ajlovegrove - 19 December 2008 09:29 AM

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

Hi ajlovegrove,

Which one of their film did you buy ? They have so much choice. Could you give us the references ?

Regards

BenGee

Bengee, i used the 50 micron but thicker may be better for some applications.  I also used tinkermans roll on technique with one piece when i was experimenting with FTIR but due to use 940nm ir leds in my strips i didn’t get very bright blobs so i opted for the LLP method!

ajlovegrove

wow damn!! that is cheap!!  but do you have sample pictures? I really want to see the film in action

the setup I used for those pics was a rear DLP projection setup

I will post pics shortly!

ajlovegrove - 19 December 2008 09:29 AM

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

How does the picture quality compare to vellum?  All of the DIY surfaces that I’ve taken from the forums create very low quality, blurry images.  The Vikuiti creates an extremely sharp picture, but is obviously out of most peoples’ price range.  I discovered a less expensive material called DartVu which is about half the price of the Vikuiti, but still more than I’d like to pay.  http://www.artdart.com/PAGEs/dartVU_spec.html

Parker

Parker - 22 December 2008 06:15 PM

ajlovegrove - 19 December 2008 09:29 AM

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

How does the picture quality compare to vellum?  All of the DIY surfaces that I’ve taken from the forums create very low quality, blurry images.  The Vikuiti creates an extremely sharp picture, but is obviously out of most peoples’ price range.  I discovered a less expensive material called DartVu which is about half the price of the Vikuiti, but still more than I’d like to pay.  http://www.artdart.com/PAGEs/dartVU_spec.html

Parker

yeah these films can get pricey sometimes.

Parker - 22 December 2008 06:15 PM

ajlovegrove - 19 December 2008 09:29 AM

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

How does the picture quality compare to vellum?  All of the DIY surfaces that I’ve taken from the forums create very low quality, blurry images.  The Vikuiti creates an extremely sharp picture, but is obviously out of most peoples’ price range.  I discovered a less expensive material called DartVu which is about half the price of the Vikuiti, but still more than I’d like to pay.  http://www.artdart.com/PAGEs/dartVU_spec.html

Parker

Hello Parker,

Could you tell me the price range of vikuity films and DartVu films ? It is quite impossible to get it on Internet except calling or emailing a supplier.

Have you seen also these company : IFOHA Projection films

Thanks

Hi guys yeah really sorry i havent posted any pictures yet.  But i can assure you that the picture quality is good!  Not blurry, or though i think that is mainly caused by the silicon layer on some peoples FTIR setups.

I have been a VJ for many years now and used quite alot of different materials to project onto and apart from the rosco grey that you get on Fast Fold screens i havent found anything as good a quality diffuser as Drafting Film not to mention the fact it is so cheap.  There is one draw back and that is the fact that it can be creased which leaves a white marking.  But it is very easy to avoid creasing if handled with reasonable care.

I would only use it for a fixed screen rear projection setup and not for somthing that may be bent.

bengee - 23 December 2008 03:58 AM

Parker - 22 December 2008 06:15 PM

ajlovegrove - 19 December 2008 09:29 AM

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

How does the picture quality compare to vellum?  All of the DIY surfaces that I’ve taken from the forums create very low quality, blurry images.  The Vikuiti creates an extremely sharp picture, but is obviously out of most peoples’ price range.  I discovered a less expensive material called DartVu which is about half the price of the Vikuiti, but still more than I’d like to pay.  http://www.artdart.com/PAGEs/dartVU_spec.html

Parker

Hello Parker,

Could you tell me the price range of vikuity films and DartVu films ? It is quite impossible to get it on Internet except calling or emailing a supplier.

Have you seen also these company : IFOHA Projection films

Thanks

I looked through that catalog.  I assume you are referring to this film.  It sounds like it is opaque, like the rosco black/grey, which would probably work fine for FTIR, but not for LLP or DI.

I could never find a price listed for any vikuiti either, but I just ran another search and it looks like 3M has started shipping pre-cut 45” and 60” 16:9 pieces to retailers for an average of $600 and $1000, respectively (I found one on sale for $500 at buy.com).  This seems quite a bit cheaper than it was a year ago when I first heard about it, so hopefully production will continue to increase and the price will come down.  The DartVu is $450 for a 40” 4:3 piece, but I have no idea how the image quality compares to the Vikuiti.  There is a distributor here in Seattle though, so I may just walk in and ask to see a sample.

At this point there are so many different films to choose from I have no idea what to use.  I wouldn’t mind paying $500 for a 45” widescreen Vikuiti panel though, as long as it was encased in something durable and scratch-proof.

I think when I get my next paycheck I will try to get small samples of all the different films listed here and see how the picture quality and IR transmission compare.  Check back in a few weeks

Buy.com page: 
http://www.buy.com/merch/q/alpha2/n/alpha/3/querytype/electronics/store/8/cscat/2/cvsnid/40829/als/-1/showall.html

Google shopping results for 45” panels:  http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=3M+Vikuiti+Rear+Projection&btnG=Search&show=dd&cid=11649271720891528577#ps-sellers

Parker - 23 December 2008 06:04 PM

bengee - 23 December 2008 03:58 AM

Parker - 22 December 2008 06:15 PM

ajlovegrove - 19 December 2008 09:29 AM

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

How does the picture quality compare to vellum?  All of the DIY surfaces that I’ve taken from the forums create very low quality, blurry images.  The Vikuiti creates an extremely sharp picture, but is obviously out of most peoples’ price range.  I discovered a less expensive material called DartVu which is about half the price of the Vikuiti, but still more than I’d like to pay.  http://www.artdart.com/PAGEs/dartVU_spec.html

Parker

Hello Parker,

Could you tell me the price range of vikuity films and DartVu films ? It is quite impossible to get it on Internet except calling or emailing a supplier.

Have you seen also these company : IFOHA Projection films

Thanks

I looked through that catalog.  I assume you are referring to this film.  It sounds like it is opaque, like the rosco black/grey, which would probably work fine for FTIR, but not for LLP or DI.

I could never find a price listed for any vikuiti either, but I just ran another search and it looks like 3M has started shipping pre-cut 45” and 60” 16:9 pieces to retailers for an average of $600 and $1000, respectively (I found one on sale for $500 at buy.com).  This seems quite a bit cheaper than it was a year ago when I first heard about it, so hopefully production will continue to increase and the price will come down.  The DartVu is $450 for a 40” 4:3 piece, but I have no idea how the image quality compares to the Vikuiti.  There is a distributor here in Seattle though, so I may just walk in and ask to see a sample.

At this point there are so many different films to choose from I have no idea what to use.  I wouldn’t mind paying $500 for a 45” widescreen Vikuiti panel though, as long as it was encased in something durable and scratch-proof.

I think when I get my next paycheck I will try to get small samples of all the different films listed here and see how the picture quality and IR transmission compare.  Check back in a few weeks

Buy.com page: 
http://www.buy.com/merch/q/alpha2/n/alpha/3/querytype/electronics/store/8/cscat/2/cvsnid/40829/als/-1/showall.html

Google shopping results for 45” panels:  http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=3M+Vikuiti+Rear+Projection&btnG=Search&show=dd&cid=11649271720891528577#ps-sellers

cool! that would be great, that will save a lot of work for many ppl one thing to keep in mind is that when you are testing only a small piece of film its difficult to see the effect when its viewing angle increases, for example if you are doing a big screen like the one I made, when you get too close, a film with a low viewing angle might have very dim edges since as you get closer to the film, your angle relative to the film increases, fortunately the film I used for this screen didn’t have this problem, but I had that problem with DartVu.

Cheers!

Ajlovegrove, did you use that film for a DI or LLP project? I wanted to know if the IR will go through the diffuser as both DI and LLP will need this.

so sorry guys, I was very busy for the last few weeks!!! anyways, anyone might be interested in IR lasers?  I know a manufacture here that makes them, they can do a 808 with 200mw and 90 degree spreed, and about 4-5mm off the surface in a cube shape.

ajlovegrove - 19 December 2008 09:29 AM

Hi

Thats great! But still quite epensive. How about http://www.polyesterconverters.com/pcl_specs/psggroup/polymex_designandreprographicpricelist.htm

Polyester converters do all sorts of different plastic sheet materials.  Ive found that drafting film is just fantastic.  Giviving a wide viewing angle and perfectly diffused projection ( no hot spotting ) tough durable waterproof and very cheap a 50 micron thick double matt ( that means matt on both sides ) 900 x 20000mm roll cost £28!!! thats right 20 meters of the stuff.

Cheers

Thanks ajlovegrove for this solution it look very nice but how you stick the paper on the plexi?

Hey guys, I posted the results of my little test to a new thread:  http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/4457/

I know a manufacture here that makes them, they can do a 808 with 200mw and 90 degree spreed, and about 4-5mm off the surface in a cube shape.

I’m always interested in hearing about lasers, espcially a cube shaped one.  Wouldn’t want to deal with 200mW tho. Hope he can do something smaller.

jsearles - 20 February 2009 12:35 PM

I know a manufacture here that makes them, they can do a 808 with 200mw and 90 degree spreed, and about 4-5mm off the surface in a cube shape.

I’m always interested in hearing about lasers, espcially a cube shaped one.  Wouldn’t want to deal with 200mW tho. Hope he can do something smaller.

Hey, check out these lasers

http://nuigroup.com/forums/viewthread/4726/

due to recent high demand for this material, the factory is out of supplies for the month of March, I will resume taking orders April.